Kid Safe Cyberspace

Most American homes have access to a personal computer and the Internet. Even if you don't have a computer at home, your children will still have access to the Internet at school, the library or a friend's house.

With that in mind, there is absolutely no excuse for refusing to learn about computers. In too many households, kids are more knowledgeable than their parents about how computers work and how they can be used. As many families have learned the hard way, ignorance about cyberspace is not bliss. Get your kids to explain things to you. They love teaching their parents.

Just as parents would not think of physically taking their children where potentially dangerous people frequent, and simply dropping them off to fend for themselves, parents should be just as protective when their children log on to the Internet.

You may never know more about computers than your children, but you only need to know enough to teach them safe computing habits. You need to discuss what you've learned with your children.

Can your child get onto any site at school or at the local library? Find out by attending Parent-Teacher Organization meetings and consulting librarians. While you may have to supervise your child at the public library, teachers and school librarians should be watching kids using school computers. Are they? Find out.

The Internet is growing every day, with new sites almost hourly. As with anything this complex, the Internet has many wonderful, educational and enriching sites. It also has sites of the lowest content. Unfortunately many of these "adults only" sites make little or no effort to keep children out. This can make parents want to set the family computer out for the next trash pickup, but avoiding or banning something is never the best approach. Properly used, the computer can enhance family life and help prepare kids to work in the twenty-first century.

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